Sunday, April 15, 2007

[April Fool Post]Technology retrieves sounds in the wall

Scientists have developed a technology that can retrieve sounds and conversations that get recorded in the walls around us. An Indian scientist and a software engineer have been working on the secret project for 17 years costing more than 255 crore rupees. Their identities are kept secret for security reasons.

"Well, the methodology is in great demand by the Americans and in Europe it's worth billions of dollars," the scientist said. "We have had kidnap threats, so we can only go public when our security is guaranteed".

Cutting edge technology

NDTV has exclusive access to the cutting edge technology. Every wall in a room is made up of millions and millions of atoms. Each atom is a collection of electrons, protons and neutrons - all electrically charged and constantly moving. When anyone inside the four walls of a room speaks, the sound carries energy that travels in waves and hits the walls. When this voice energy hits the atoms in a wall the electrons and protons are disturbed.

Each word spoken hits the atoms with a different energy level and disturbs the atoms differently. Scientists have worked on the software and technology that can measure how each atom has been disturbed and match each unique disturbance with a unique word. The technology virtually "replays" the sequence of words that have been spoken inside the walls. It's like rewinding a tape recorder and you can go as far back in history as you want.

Historic secrets

The scientists have already recorded many historic conversations some of which are classified as secret. They have extracted a few words by Aurangzeb from the walls of the Red Fort in Delhi and from the walls of the Agra Fort. They contain what Shahjahan said to Noorjahan on the night before she died. It's not just voices from the distant past that can be replayed - when you leave your room at work your boss can tap the walls and hear all that you said. The amazing technology could change the way we live. Inside the bedroom or boardroom - nothing is a secret any more.

It will change way nations spy on each other and it will most certainly lead to the re-writing of history books. The technology will be available commercially for sale 12 months from now in April 2008.